The General Administrative of Press
and Publication of China (GAPP) issued a rare statement on
July 30 noting the rights of media workers following three
recent incidents. A Shenzhen-based journalist, Chen
Xiaoying, of the China Times, was punched in the head
by an unidentified man on July 29 when she arrived for an
appointment with an anonymous source. Chen believes the
assault was connected to her report on a listed company,
Shenzhen International Enterprise Co., published on July 18,
which alleged that its managing director may have been
involved in inappropriate activities. In Shanghai on July
30, four people broke into the office of National
Business Daily and harassed staff after the newspaper
reported allegations that products of shampoo manufacturer
Bawang Group might contain excessive levels of chemicals. A
separate incident in Lishui City Suichang County also
contributed to the GAPP response. The Economic
Observer’sQiu Ziming discovered his name on an
online “wanted persons” list of the local security
bureau on July 23, after he published three articles on
Zhejiang Kan Specialties Material Corporation’s suspected
involvement in stock exchange breaches. The security bureau
deleted Qiu’s name and apologised on July 30 but gave no
firm commitment to investigate Qiu’s allegations of
harassment and attempted bribery from those who sought to
cover up his reports. The IFJ is encouraged by the GAPP
statement and urges media organisations to report all cases
of assault and intimidation.

2. IFJ Condemns
Jailing of Uyghur Media Workers, Writer

The IFJ
condemned the sentencing of four Uyghur media workers and a
writer for three to 15 years’ jail. Writer Gheyret Niyaz,
51, a former journalist and a frequent writer at
Uighurbiz.net, was convicted of divulging state secrets and
sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on July 23. Radio Free
Asia reported that Gheyret was convicted for accepting an
interview with a Hong Kong magazine, Asia Week, where
he revealed he had twice warned the Government of Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region ahead of the outburst of ethnic
unrest in July 2009. On July 30, more than 20 of China’s
scholars requested the local government release Gheyret
unconditionally. Dilshat PerhatNureli, Nijat Azat and one
unnamed person, employees of Uyghur language website
Diyarim.com, were convicted of endangering state security
and sentenced to between three and 10 years’ jail each.
The IFJ urged the Xinjiang Government to swiftly and
unconditionally release the four prisoners.

3.
Death Threat on Journalist Reporting on Floods

A
journalist with the China Economic Times,Liu
Jianfeng, received a life-threatening note on July 9, a day
after he reported on his blog that people had drowned during
floods in Jiangxi. His original report, published in the
print and online editions of the paper, had been edited by
senior management, who reclassified three deaths caused by
the floods as “disappearances”. According to a Radio
Free Asia report, Liu found a note at his home which said,
“Watch out when you go out!” Liu believes the note was
sent by agents of the Jiangxi Government, who had also
allegedly offered him a bribe of 3000 yuan (about USD 443)
on June 29. The IFJ urged China’s Central Government and
Security Bureau to promptly investigate the threats and
bribery allegations, and called on the All-China
Journalists’ Association to discourage
self-censorship.

4. Report Details Hong Kong
Media Rights Infringements

The IFJ was concerned
by information in a new report that documents increasing
media rights infringements in Hong Kong in the past 12
months. The annual report of the Hong Kong Journalists’
Association (HKJA), an IFJ affiliate, reports several
threats to media freedom, including increased restrictions
on journalists and incidents of harassment and assault. Many
of the media rights violations reported by the HKJA are in
stark contrast to the Basic Law of Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, which grants its people freedom of
the press, freedom of expression and freedom of publication.
The IFJ urged Hong Kong’s Government to uphold the Basic
Law, which is a responsibility that comes with being a
signatory of the International Covenant of Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR). The IFJ’s 2009 press freedom
report, China Clings to Control, noted a number of
cases where Hong Kong journalists were assaulted or detained
while working in China. Find the IFJ’s report here.

5.
Journalist Beaten While Reporting Building
Collapse

Lin Feng, a journalist of Southeast
Express, controlled by the Fujian branch of China’s
Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which is
in turn under the direction of the Fujian Provincial
Government, was assaulted by a group of unidentified people
on July 8 when he was reporting on the collapse of a
building in a village of Cangshan District, Fuzhou, Fujian
province. During the scuffle, his camera was snatched and
all images were deleted. Lin said some local villagers
alleged that the group was instructed by a village
representative who was related to local officials involved
in breaching the building’s construction regulations.
Journalists from other media outlets were forbidden to get
closer to the vicinity.

6. Interview Request
Answered with Assault

Chen Wenguang, of Zhejiang
TV, suffered stomach injuries and his camera was damaged in
an assault by an official of Lu Bu village, in Liandu
District, on July 16, following his request to interview
village vice-officer Zeng Guofeng regarding construction of
a resort without official approval. No promise has been made
by authorities to investigate the case.

7.
Hong Kong and Foreign Journalists Detained for Reporting
Rally

The IFJ was concerned by an attempt by
police to block Hong Kong and foreign media access and
reporting of an August 1 rally in Guangdong to protect the
city’s colloquial language. Journalists in China were
banned from covering the event, and were instructed by
authorities to use government news agency reports instead.
Journalist Lam Kin-seng, of Hong Kong-based Cable TV,
reported that police surrounded the group of Hong Kong and
foreign media workers before taking them to a temporary
office where they were detained for almost six hours,
interrogated and accused of being involved in “attempting
to disrupt social order”. The IFJ urged the General
Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) of China and
the All China Journalists’ Association to work to ensure
officials at all levels understand the rights of the media
that are enshrined in China’s Constitution.

8. Ban on Report of Killings at
Kindergarten

A non-publication order was made by
the Shandong propaganda department about the killing of
three toddlers at a kindergarten in Boshan District, Zibo
City, Shandong Province, on August 3. An IFJ source said a
number of toddlers and teachers were also injured before the
attacker absconded. The source said the local government’s
prohibition on media reports may be because many local
government officials’ children attend the kindergarten.

9. Negative Newspaper Reports from Outside
Home Province Banned

In July, the Central
Propaganda Department tightened regulations to prevent
provincial city newspapers from publishing negative articles
written by newspapers located in other provinces. City
newspapers must now source state-owned media when reporting
on spontaneous news, unless an event is viewed specifically
by a staff reporter on the scene. “The aim of the order is
to strengthen the local government’s ability to control
the dissemination of negative reports about their own
cities,” a journalist who is working in a city newspaper
said. “We’d heard that some of the local governments had
complained to the Central Propaganda Government of negative
stories being published about their province. The order
affects the watch-dog power of media.” The IFJ urged
China’s authorities to revoke the order as it is a clear
violation of the principles of press freedom which are
enshrined in article 35 of China’s
Constitution.

10. Reporting on CEO Allegations
and Rules for Party Leaders Restricted

The
Central Propaganda Department issued an order on July 12
that all media not report an allegation that a former CEO of
Microsoft (China), Tang Jun, was involved in a fake doctoral
degree incident. Tang’s case became a hot topic online in
China, which prompted some of the media to investigate
whether any celebrities in China were involved in the
unethical obtaining of academic results. On July 5 the
department ordered controls on reporting about a new
regulation requiring Party leaders to register personal data
about themselves and their family members. The order directs
all media to use government-run Xinhua News Agency reports
about the regulation.

11. Internet Monitoring
Raises Concerns

The IFJ was worried that a number
of moves by China’s authorities to justify increased
monitoring of online activity will adversely impact
journalists. The Government of Tibet demanded all internet
cafes install a distance monitoring online system by the end
of August after instruction from the Ministry of Culture of
China. The system records all websites that internet users
access, as well as messages in chat rooms or Skype, which
are often used by journalists. A Tibetan news website
reported on July 30 that the ministry said it was trying to
protect minors. However some scholars queried this as all
internet users are already required to use their personal
identity registration number to play online games, which
prevents minors from using the cafes for this purpose.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reported
on July 1 that some social networking websites are being
used by western intelligence agencies to collect political
information. According to the China Daily, the
research report “China New Media Development 2010” said
that social networking websites had fast become a platform
for people who attempt to upset the social order. Since
early July many bloggers have complained that their blogs at
sina and sohu were suddenly blocked.

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